1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method and a device for the treatment of a plant by means of the introduction of liquid substances into its trunk.
The treatments for the conservation of the arboreal heritage require the more and more widespread use of chemical products of very different nature and with different aims, for instance phytodrugs, pesticides, fertilizers or similar.
These compounds, often applied by dusting or radical absorption, can be dangerous for the entire ecosystem in the area where the treatment is carried out.
Systems for the application of chemical substances have been recently proposed and they envisage the injection under pressure of said substances directly into the system of the plant lymph circulation.
Such methods of treatment, due to an injection pressure exceeding the physiological pressure of the vascular system, prevent the homogeneous distribution of the substance in the whole plant. In the best case this can only result in a poor efficacy of the treament, whereas in the worst case the high concentration in localised areas can cause severe damages to the treated plant. However, the French patent application N FR 2586162 has disclosed a process for the treatment of plants by means of introduction at atmospheric pressure of an antibacterial substance in the trunk. The device used for the application of the process described comprises a container of relatively limited capacity (15 cc) and two tubes connected to opposite ends thereof. The tube coming out from the bottom portion is introduced with its free end into a hole provided in the tree at a lower height than the container, while the second tube, the function of which is not clearly described, probably connects the inside of the container to the external atmosphere. One of the major inconveniences of the device described in the aforesaid French patent application lies in the impossibility to regulate the substance deflux from the container. In practice, any substance present in the container downflows in few instants towards the introduction hole, thus preventing to comply with the prescribed dosage which varies as a function of multiple factors, such as for instance the species of the treated plant, its size, the type of substance used to carry out the treatment and the concentration of active principles therein.
Furthermore a similar device proves to be poorly suitable in case it is necessary to perform a series of repeated treatments. In fact the device presented in said French patent application cannot be used again after the treatment and it is therefore necessary to utilize more devices if a different substance or massive doses of the same substance need to be introduced.